Villa Information:

Accommodation:• Super king size double bedroom with en-suite wet room with three French windows opening on to 3 terraces
NB The bedroom is on a lower terrace level and has a separate entrance to the living areas.
• Sitting room
• Fully equipped kitchen
• Several outside sitting areas
• Air conditioning in the bedroom

General:• 50 minutes drive from the airport along the coastal road
• 15 minutes drive to Agni with its excellent tavernas
• 20 minutes drive to St Stefanos (also on the sea) with excellent restaurants and a picturesque harbour
• 20 minutes to Kassiopi with its various supermarkets and bars
• 20 minutes to Avlaki, a peaceful beach with 2 good tavernas
• There are lovely walks from the house taking you to Katavalos roughly 1 kilometre away or those with a little more stamina could walk up to Megoulas, a deserted heritage village
• Car essential

Villa Iriti

EOT Licence: MHTE No. 0829 K 91000402201

In the increasingly frenetic world we live in, we all dream of the ultimate romantic retreat. Villa Iriti is just this - a rare find, located in a spectacular setting above Corfu’s fabled North-east coastline, with uninterrupted views to the sea and the Albanian mountains beyond.

When the owner first went to Corfu as a teenager, she returned again and again to what became a second home. She fell in love with the landscape, the greenness, the wild flowers, the crystal clear waters and the relaxed pace of life on the island. Many years later, having become a successful specialist painter and Notting Hill shop owner, she bought a roofless ruin above the hamlet of Rou. After two painstaking years of renovation, she has made Iriti into a stunning home reflecting her very individual style and eye for the unusual and quirky.

High up in the hills in a private and romantic setting, you really feel you are in a world apart. Yet, within a few minutes’ drive, you can be down having lunch and a swim on Agni beach where there are some of the best beach tavernas on the island.

Set in olive groves, which in spring are carpeted in wild flowers, the half-acre garden has been planted in sympathy with its natural surroundings by Jennifer Gay, the renowned landscape gardener and designer. The pool area, with its divine views and large sunbathing area, is seriously spoiling for just two people, with comfortable sunbeds and elegant Italian umbrellas creating shade. A covered pergola shades the outdoor eating area and barbecue, as well as various terraces and seating areas providing more diversity in this magical setting.

Inside, the interiors are wonderfully light, and have been stylishly and sympathetically decorated to create a spacious but homely feel. High open ceilings, old thick walls and lots of windows keep the house cool and airy at all times. There is a well equipped, country style kitchen and dining area with an arch and steps leading to the sitting room with comfortable sofas and chairs, creating an elegant retreat. The large and luxurious bedroom is the ultimate treat with superking size bed and handmade mattress. Three french windows lead to terraces. A gorgeous ensuite wet-room complete with Moroccan hand-beaten basin completes the experience.

A Spring or Autumn visit to Villa Iriti is magical, the wood burning stove in the sitting room making it more than cosy. In Spring the area is carpeted with wild flowers and in the Autumn there are long, halcyon days with warm sea and wild cyclamen. Walkers and painters can imagine the landscapes that Lear eulogised about, with dragonflies, butterflies, lizards of every hue still creating the same magic. Tortoises are not uncommon: or watch the many eagles, kites and buzzards flying in the valley below… listen to the sound of the scops owl at night, so beloved of Gerald Durrell.

Villa Iriti is very very special: and those who stay there will very much feel they do so as a valued guest of the owner in her much loved and very beautiful house, in a special corner of this beautiful, and totally addictive Island.